Blog — Rescue My Space | Professional Organizer & Declutterer | Houston Area

How to Organize a Small Kitchen

Regardless on the size, our kitchen it’s the heart of the home. We eat in our kitchen, teach in our kitchen and sometimes even cry in our kitchen and because of it’s multiple uses, it’s important we keep it organized and clean. With that said, when you have a small kitchen it’s a lot more difficult to keep it organized due to lack of storage. With less storage, you are prone to throwing items into the closest drawer to try to fit it all in or on to the countertops. If you want to create more room in your small kitchen, you’ve got to declutter and get it organized. Here’s how to do so.

GET RID OF ALL USED ITEMS

If you’re looking to organize any space in your home purging is the first and most important step to start at. Take out everything from your kitchen and place them on a flat surface. It’s best to do this in sections, of course! Sort through all items and only keep the items you love and/or use. For all other items, get rid of them by either selling them, donating them or throw them away (only if they’re damaged, duh).

ADD BINS TO CABINETS

Because you lack storage adding bins to your kitchen cabinets help create division especially for those items that are either in multiples or not appealing to look at. Binning items like cleaning cloths, shot glasses or even wine glasses are a great way to organize your cabinets without cluttering your cabinet.

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USE UTENSIL DRAWER ORGANIZERS

I can not stress the importance of using drawer organizers in kitchen drawers especially in a small kitchen. Drawer organizers help you use all the space in your drawers which is perfect when you have a limited amount of drawers and helps you create more space to store your kitchen items. They also help keep your drawers neat which is key to maintaining an organized space.


USE BACK OF KITCHEN CABINET TO HANG KITCHEN TOOLS

Hanging kitchen items like measuring cups and spoons on the back of kitchen cabinets is a great way to use unused space in a small kitchen. Using hooks allow you to take advantage of the vertical space in the cabinet which of course is important when organizing a small kitchen. If using the back of the cabinet doors isn’t an option for you, try using the back of the cabinet to hang your items.


ADD PULL OUT DRAWER FOR EASILY ACCESSIBILITY

When things are easily accessible it’s not only easy to grab them, it’s easy to put them away. Choose a cabinet section you want to install the pull out drawer. I would suggest choosing the cabinet space you place your pots and pans in or in your largest cabinet. Installation takes less than hour and once you’re done, you will have a functional storage system.


KEEP COUNTERTOP CLEAR

As simple as this may seem, keeping our countertops clean is not an easy thing to do for a lot of us. When your countertops are clean, it gives the illusion that your space of any size is organized especially in a small kitchen. One way to clear off your countertops is to first make sure everything on your countertops have a home. One of the main reasons why we keep items on our countertops is because there’s no other place to put them. To combat this issue, you need to dedicate at least an hour to the cause, go through your kitchen and see where you can create new homes for these items and get rid of all unused items. Once that’s done, place the items on the countertops in their new home and label the area for easier accessibility.

GET RID OF JUNK DRAWER FOR MORE SPACE

This was probably a tip I juggled with because I believe a junk drawer is important to have in the kitchen. The reason why I’ve mentioned it is because if you have a small kitchen and storage is your issue, removing the junk drawer will free up the drawer, therefore, give you a new area to designated other important kitchen items to. To avoid overwhelm when doing this, try creating a junk bin which replaces the junk drawer. You can also create a list of the items that are in this bin so if you’re looking for a certain item, you can read the list to make sure the item you are looking for is in the bin before going through it. Place your now junk bin in another location maybe in the kitchen or in a nearby area and now you have a new drawer to use.

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Whether you have a large kitchen or a small kitchen, creating an organized kitchen provides great benefits for you, your family and the overall value of your home. It not only makes a small kitchen appear larger, it makes it safer for anyone to use. Just be sure you put items back in their place after each use so that it stays organized for good.

If you need help organizing your small kitchen, feel free to comment below and let me know what your concerns are! I’m always happy to help.






Spaces That You Should Organize Daily - Our Guide

When it comes to daily organizing, it can feel like a major chore. But there are quite a few spaces that you should organize every day so that you don’t build up excess items that you don’t need. Taking a few minutes of your time each day to clean out these things will help you stay in control of your space and belongings. If you aren’t already, here are some of the things you should be decluttering every single day:


YOUR BAG

Cleaning your bag daily will keep it organized and clutter-free. When we bring our bag places, sometimes we tend to throw things like receipts or candy wrappers into it. Many of us will treat our handbags as a trashcan, so get rid of those little things so you aren’t lugging junk around all day.


YOUR WALLET

This is another place where you shouldn’t keep any unnecessary things. Remove things like receipts and other scraps of paper, such as money. You can also make sure that your cards are all in their proper slots and that nothing is missing. Remove any excess coins that might be sitting around in your coin purse, weighing your bag down.

DIRTY LAUNDRY

Sometimes we just rush in and out of the house on a daily basis. Whether you were heading to the gym or you just took a quick shower before work, we all have a little pile of clothes sitting in the corners of our rooms. Return all items to their proper places. You should fold or hang up any clothes that you have not worn yet and make sure to put any dirty laundry that you’ve already worn away into a laundry basket or hamper.

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YOUR DESK

Whether you have a work area at home or you work in an office building or studio, you will want to keep it clean. An organized workspace will allow you to focus more on your job or task at hand. It will also allow you to find things more easily, as you won’t have to root around in your drawers looking for things when they’re organized better.


YOUR CAR

If you use your car every day, it’s probably best you avoid leaving empty coffee cups or other pieces of garbage lying around in it. Take some time at the end of the day, even for just a few minutes, to clean out all the random trash you might’ve left in your car.

YOUR COUNTERS

You want to make sure that your kitchen counters are clean and that they’re a welcoming workspace for cooking. When you’re making food in the kitchen, you don’t want random clutter sitting around. Besides, having extra space for chopping or rolling can really make cooking faster and more efficient.

YOUR E-MAIL

If you’re one of those people that have thousands of unread emails, you will definitely want to clean up your inbox, even though it’s all digital! Whether you read the emails, answer them, or delete the ones you don’t need to see, it is important that you do declutter your email so that you can see the important ones that you actually need to read.

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YOUR BED

It might not seem so important to make your bed every morning because you’re going to sleep in it again tonight anyway, right? But cleaning up your bedroom and making your bed will make your space feel more inviting and if you have surprise guests coming over, your room will look a lot more organized.

If you’re looking for a Professional Organizing company in Houston, TX to help make more space in your property, get in touch with Rescue My Space today! We’re always more than happy to help.

3 Simple Ways to fold A Towel

Towels are an important item in our lives. They are soft, durable and most importantly get us dry. Below are just a few simple ways to fold a towel which can save space and display beautifully.

 

OPTION #1 – THE REUBEN

Step1: Spread your bath towel on a flat surface and fold the long side of the towel in half.

Step2: Take the left side of the folded towel and fold it towards the middle and do the same with the right side

Step3: Position the towel in front of you and take the edge of the towel and fold it over to the other side twice creating a tightly folded towel.  

 
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OPTION #2 – THE REWIND

Step 1: Spread your bath towel on a flat surface

Step 2: Fold the long side of the towel up in half.

Step 3: Take the left side of the folded towel and fold it towards the middle and do the same with the right side

Step 4: Position the towel in front of you and instead of folding over twice, fold it over once with the edge of the towel on top exposing the towel design.  

 
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OPTION #3 – THE ROLL UP

Step 1: Spread your bath towel on a flat surface

Step 2: Fold the long side of the towel up in half.

Step 3: Grab one of the corners and bring it across creating a triangle until it is parallel to the far edge.

Step 4: Flip the towel over and then fold the corners in thirds.

Step 5: Flip the towel over again making sure the corners are facing down except the top towel corner.

Step 6: Tightly roll your towel up and tuck exposed towel corner inside the towel.

 
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 If you’re interested in watching the 3 Simple ways to fold a Towel video, check out the below.

 
 

3 Simple ways to Death Clean

If you were to die tomorrow, how hard would it be for your loved ones to sort through your stuff?

When I first came across death cleaning all I could think of is cleaning until you die. Like cleaning so hard you just fall over and die. Crazy right?? Before we get into different ways to death clean, it’s important you understand what death cleaning is. Well I’m going to tell you!

Death cleaning is a practical way to deal with your stuff as you approach your wiser years which is based on the book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson. I know that’s a hell of a long title. Death cleaning prevents the hardship of your family having to handle the things you leave behind after you die. The overall message from the book is to begin decluttering so your death isn’t such a burden for those you leave behind. Even though it sounds morbid, it’s important we look at death cleaning as a way of life rather than a preparation for death.

Okay, now that you know what death Cleaning is let get right into it.

No.1 - START NOW

Get rid of the unnecessary items in your life right now because honestly, you’re never to young to start. Before you begin death cleaning, you first need to decide on which space in your home you want to tackle first. Per Margareta you should start in areas like the closet, kitchen or storage unit first. With that said, go through your home and remove all items that have no meaning in your life today or in my words SHIT. You can go through your personal notes and photographs last since those ignite a lot of emotion.

 
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No.2 - START A DEATH FUND

Similar to a will or even life insurance, a death fund will give your beneficiary access to your funds and give them the right to hire whom ever you want to get rid of all your stuff when you pass. If you will be alive when death cleaning, putting this fund away will help make the process of death cleaning less overwhelming and quicker since of course you’ll have help. In order to determine what the cost will be to hire a death cleaning specialist, which there are a lot of nowadays, do some research in your area to see what the average cost would be and set it aside for either when you’re ready or for after you pass on.

 
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No.3 - CREATE A THROW AWAY BOX FILLED WITH ITEMS ONLY YOU LOVE

Create a box filled with items you love and only you will enjoy. Be selfish since its only you who will own it. In order to make the process of tossing this box easy when you pass, make sure you label it “throw away”, “burn it” or even “get rid of this shit” and make sure the font is large enough so anyone reading can follow its clear instructions. The goal is when you pass your family member will understand they can throw away the box without guilt. Because guilt is the main reason why we hold onto items therefore we feel guilty to get rid of them even if they have no meaning in our own lives.


Rather than looking at death cleaning as a chore or a selfish act, try looking at it as a relief from meaningless items. Because at the end of the day when you pass, you won’t be taking any of your items with you.

If you’re looking for a Professional Organizer to help you death clean or just have questions about how to properly death clean, get in touch with RMS today! I’m happy to help!